3 Guitar Exercises That Actually Help Arthritis
How a Manual Osteopath and Guitarist uses simple, science-backed ways to reduce tension and play with more ease
Arthritis and stiff joints don’t mean the music has to stop. They do mean you need to change how you move.
As both a guitarist and a Manual Osteopathic Practitioner, I’ve spent years helping over-40 players loosen up their hands, protect their joints, and keep playing the songs they love.
This post will give you 3 practical exercises that actually work for arthritic or painful hands.
Not gimmicks. Not 20-minute routines.
Just simple resets based on osteopathic principles and adult learning.
- Structure governs function: line up your joints, and they’ll work better.
- Circulation is king: warm tissue works; cold tissue fights back.
- The body works as one: fix the shoulders, and the fingers often follow.
Why Arthritis Friendly Exercise Matter
Think of it this way: strumming without warming up is like sprinting straight out of bed. Your joints will rebel, and they’ll win.
Arthritic joints need gradual movement to wake up tissues and improve blood flow. Skip that, and you risk inflammation, stiffness, and the dreaded “claw hand” mid-song.
The goal isn’t just to loosen fingers; it’s to set up your entire playing posture for comfort and endurance. Read more on the importance of playing post in my post on The Spine to String Connection.
What Actually Helps? Stability First Then Mobility
Most “arthritis-friendly” routines start with aggressive stretching. But if your joints are not primed or unstable, that just makes things worse.
The truth?
You need to calm the nervous system and reestablish joint safety before chasing flexibility.
That’s what the exercises below are designed to do:
- Relieve protective bracing
- Rebuild trust in your fingers and wrists
- Create a solid, pain-aware foundation for practice
3 Exercises Backed by Evidence (Not Just Hype)
1. Finger Wave + Wrist Glide
What it does: Teaches your brain your fingers are safe again
- Open and close the hand slowly, wave-like
- Add gentle wrist circles at the end
- Do 5–10 rounds, slow and steady
2. Tabletop Slide + Shoulder Check
What it does: Coordinates upper limb glide + shoulder support
- Place your hand on a table
- Gently slide forward while keeping the shoulder relaxed
- Pull back slowly, feeling any sticky points
- Repeat 5x per hand
3. Nerve Glide Reset (Radial Focus)
What it does: Mobilizes nerves without tension
- Arm out to the side, palm down
- Gently tip the wrist and head in opposite directions
- 5–10 smooth reps — no sharpness, just motion
Safety Checklist
- Tempo: Move at half the speed of a normal strum slow is key for neuromotor priming.
- Pain Rule: If pain rises above 2/10 or lingers > 30 s, stop and shake out.
- Breath + Posture: Exhale on effort, keep shoulders down, spine tall.
- Progression: When reps feel easy for two sessions, add light rubber-band resistance to the Finger Wave only; the other drills stay glide-based.
- Consistency: Do the set once before every play session; that single habit delivers most of the benefit.
Now your all warmed up check out my other post on Arthritis friendly guitar chords you can adapt, which are easier to play and still sound great:
Gentle Octaves
Quick Motivation
- Less than 5 mins and it protects the joints, primes the nerves, and steadies the shoulders.
- Each drill is low-load and guitar-friendly; you can run through it backstage or at your desk.
Why bother?
A 2024 pilot study in music-conservatoire students showed that daily physical warm-ups significantly reduced playing-related pain after accounting for sleep, mood, and activity levels. Pairing the three drills above meets that criterion in just five minutes.
Play longer by moving smarter move smarter to play longer.
Your Invitation
F.P
F.P. O’Connor
F.P. O’Connor is a manual osteopath, psychology grad, and lifelong musician who helps adults play with less pain and more confidence.
Through Gentle Octaves Studio, he blends science, movement, and musicianship to help mature players keep creating for life.
Release → Reset → Rebuild™ your sound
If you’d like my personal sequence, plus the posture adjustments that make the biggest difference, I wrote a book called Keep Playing. Check it out here:
Mini FAQ
Q: Should I stretch if my fingers hurt from arthritis?
A: Not always. Focus on gentle mobilization and nerve-safe movements first. Forceful stretching can trigger more pain if your joints feel unstable.
Q: Can osteopathy help with playing-related hand pain?
A: Yes especially for musicians with fascial restrictions or repetitive strain. It supports tissue mobility and nervous system downregulation.
Q: Are these safe to try at home without a physio?
A: All exercises listed are low-risk and designed for gentle self-regulation. But if any movement causes sharp pain, stop and consult a healthcare professional.
Sources & Science
- American College of Rheumatology. (2022). Hand and wrist exercises for arthritis.
- Austen, C., Redman, D., & Martini, M. (2024). Warm-up exercises reduce music conservatoire students’ pain intensity when controlling for mood, sleep and physical activity: A pilot study. British Journal of Pain, 18(1), 57–69. https://doi.org/10.1177/20494637231188306 .
- Osteopathic International Alliance. (2021). Osteopathic principles and practice overview.
- Stamm, T. A., Machold, K. P., Smolen, J. S., Fischer, S., Redlich, K., Graninger, W., Ebner, W., & Erlacher, L. (2002). Joint protection and home hand exercises improve hand function in patients with hand osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled trial. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 47(1), 44–49. https://doi.org/10.1002/art1.10246
- World Health Organization. (2023). Musculoskeletal conditions
